You Ask, We Answer: Is Meat For Breakfast A Good Option For Weight Loss?

Meat is one thing we wish to consume at every meal. However, is consuming a lean rump steak or chicken breast for breakfast is a good idea? Nutritionist and Freelance Writer at Travellers Dietition – Kara Landau, shares the real secret behind the mystery for successful weight loss.

The main immediate response that motivates people to eat the most important meal of the day is – it should ‘wake them up’ and get their head back in the game at work. Many people skip their breakfast and thus start their morning at a ‘slow’ pace. In order to pick up pace, as soon as they get to work they have a morning coffee or something to eat, so that they get a ‘ready to go’ feeling.

The quick kick-start after drinking a cup of coffee is not really a surprise. Most people crave for a daily dose of caffeine as their breakfast. “This is where most of us go wrong, if we take a step back, and think about what we actually need in our body to help make us feel alert, it is a healthy dose of protein to boost our dopamine release (which helps with concentration) “– says Kara.

Kara further adds- “Then on the other hand, at night, before we go to sleep, having more serotonin released in our body, help us feel relaxed and fall asleep. This would make more sense than pumping our body with the fuel to bump up dopamine release.”

The main dietary production of serotonin in the body is carbohydrates. Therefore, it makes more sense to have that wholegrain toast or cereal in the evening as a light meal before bed, compared with the lean meat and vegetables, for a light relaxed good night sleep.

Having an early dinner, which was not filling enough can lead to unhealthy snacking, this can later play havoc with your healthy eating plan or total calorie intake for the day. Thus, aim to eat a higher protein diet during the day, this will help you to stay full till your dinner time and also reduce the portion size and having lighter meal can actually work well for your weight loss.

Consuming protein rich dinner can have a negative effect on your sleeping patterns, as it will make it hard for you to fall asleep. Besides, you will also get an overeating feeling due to the thermic effect of protein breakdown (heat is a by-product of its breakdown, and protein has a higher thermic effect than carbohydrates and fats).

The benefits of having protein earlier in the day are:

•You will feel more alert when you are trying to “wake up” and concentrate at work.

•You will actually feel full for the entire morning, which could prevent you from snacking on unhealthy refined snacks.

•You will feel fuller by the end of the day, and therefore not be as ravenous in the evening, which could prevent over eating and a disrupted sleeping pattern.

Here are few quick fixes, to start your mornings with a super-protein breakfast-making egg muffins or frittatas with salmon or lean ham off the bone, and vegetables which are portable and you can take with you to work are all a good mix of protein and fibre, use high protein cereals such as Protein 1st, or make up your own mix by using any variety of soy flakes, amaranth, LSA mix, chia seeds and hemp seed, you could make some muffins using coconut flour and mix in a little bit of hemp protein powder for a natural high protein mix.

All these sources will help you to boost your morning with protein, without opting for a steak, to get your protein hit. To get the best out of your morning breakfast, make a high fibre wrap with some left over stir fried chicken and vegetables for breakfast. This will make you full all morning and allow you to have an early dinner as well. Thus, assuring you a good night sleep.